The Wilmington Fire Department is looking to diversity its workforce.
Many fire departments throughout the country struggle with recruiting minorities and females and the Wilmington Fire Department is no exception.
Despite a roughly 50 percent female population and a 21 percent black population in the Wilmington metropolitan area, around 10 percent of the WFD is made up of females and minorities.
Captain Darone McDowell, a 25-year veteran of the department, leads a diversity committee dedicated to improving these numbers.
"A change that I would like to see is just a better representation of the community that we serve," McDowell said, "You know we serve a very diverse community, and it's not going to happen overnight, but we can continue to work toward better putting forth a department that mirrors the community."
McDowell hopes that by recruiting formally and informally, the numbers will continue to improve.
"The fire service has always been a traditionally Caucasian, male-dominated profession," he said, "It began in the rural communities. Therefore minorities, in particular African male minorities from the inner city were not exposed to that. So when the time came for recruitment for jobs. They were not aware of the opportunities that were available within the fire service."
The Wilmington Fire Department, through the efforts of the diversity committee, strives to recruit the best individuals, regardless of race and gender, but always with diversity in mind.